SUBSCRIBE

Campus News

Published April 29, 2010

A New Chancellor

Arthur V. Mauro

Arthur
V. Mauro, a prominent Canadian lawyer and businessman, has accepted the
position of Chancellor of Lakehead University. Mauro started a
renewable three-year term on January 1, 2010. He succeeds Lorne Everett
who served as Chancellor from 2000 to 2009.

Arthur Mauro,
OC, OM, was born in 1927, in Thunder Bay (Port Arthur), ON. He studied
law at the University of Manitoba and was called to the Bar of Manitoba
in 1953. Until 1969 he practiced law, specializing in transportation and
communication law. Arthur Mauro has had an illustrious career. In 1967,
he was appointed Chairman of the Royal Commission on Northern
Transportation, and in 1969 became a senior executive with Great
Northern Capital Corporation. From 1972 to 1976, he was President and
Chief Executive Officer of Transair Limited, and joined the Investors
Group in 1976 to become its President, Chief Executive Officer, and
Chairman. From 1991 to 2000 he was Chancellor of the University of
Manitoba.

In September 2001, Arthur Mauro made a
major contribution to St. Paul''s College at the University of Manitoba
to establish the Centre for Peace and Justice. In 1987, he was made a
Member of the Order of Canada and was later promoted to Officer in 1992.
He received an Honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of Manitoba in 1987 and an Honorary Doctor of Commerce from Lakehead
University in 1997. In 2004, he was awarded the Order of Manitoba. At
present, Arthur Mauro is Chair of the Winnipeg Airport Authority.

The Chancellor's primary responsibilities include building
bridges between the University and stakeholder groups as well as the
broader publics – locally, nationally, and internationally; fostering
the mission, vision, and values of Lakehead; and undertaking specific
duties such as conferring degrees at Convocation, representing Lakehead
University on special occasions, and participating in select initiatives
to promote the University.

Cruelty to Children

Monica Flegel

In her new book, Conceptualizing
Cruelty to Children in Nineteenth-Century England,
Professor Monica Flegel moves nimbly between literary and historical
texts and provides a much-needed interpretive framework for
understanding the specific formulation of child cruelty popularized by
the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC)
in the late nineteenth century. Flegel’s book makes a significant
contribution to the history of childhood, social welfare, the family,
and Victorian philanthropy.

Punched Drunk

In this critical study of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO), Scott Thompson and Lakehead Sociology Professor Gary Genosko expose the stakes and consequences of the enormous bureaucracy behind the administrative surveillance of alcohol consumption in Ontario.

Since its inception in 1927, the LCBO subjected alcohol consumption to its disciplinary gaze and generated knowledge about the drinking population. This book details how the LCBO tracked all alcohol consumption and capitalized on technological advances in order to generate categories and profiles of individuals so they could “control” drinking in the province. While this is a historical project, it also investigates how categorical treatment of populations like First Nations helped to develop and foster stereotypes around addiction that persist to this day.

Scott Thompson (MA’06) worked as a research assistant under the direction of Gary Genosko and was funded by a SSHRC Northern Research Development Program. The research was jump-started through community collaborations with Nishnawbe Aski Nation and political consultant David Peerla. Scott is currently a doctoral candidate in Sociology at the University of Victoria, in Victoria, BC.

Music from the Early Renaissance

Students of music history and vocal music will be the main beneficiaries of a generous donation of 14th Century music scores made by Mrs. Jean Engholm. The 25-volume set valued at $5,000 was made in memory of her husband Geoffrey Engholm, a Professor of Political Science who taught at Lakehead University from 1968 to 1984 and who passed away in 2007.

“The music scores represent a significant addition to our Music Library and are a fitting tribute to the memory of Geoffrey Engholm, a man who loved classical music,” says Associate Professor Glenn Colton, Chair of the Department of Music. The collection includes music scores from French, Italian, and English composers of polyphonic music. It covers an important period of music history when Western art music was reaching a high stage of development that anticipated the style of the early Renaissance era.

“Geoffrey got so much pleasure out of music and he loved sharing what he knew with anyone who was interested,” says Jean Engholm. “This gift will be of long-lasting value to many students to help them develop a love of music.”

Older Drivers Needed

The Canadian Driving Research Initiative for Vehicular Safety in the Elderly (Candrive) is looking to recruit volunteers for a long-term study of older drivers to determine the key factors that impact their driving safety. Study results will help in the development of a simple, objective screening tool that will assist health-care professionals to identify the characteristics of safe and unsafe older drivers, and refer those deemed at risk for further assessment. This will help to alleviate many of the problems and inconsistencies doctors and families face in attempting to determine fitness to drive.

The lead researcher in Thunder Bay is Professor Michel Bédard, Canada Research Chair in Aging and Health and Director of the Centre for Research on Safe Driving at Lakehead University. Any Thunder Bay (and area) resident over the age of 70 who owns a 1996 vehicle (or newer) and who drives at least four times per week is an appropriate candidate to participate. For more information call 807-766-7256, 1-866-233-1133, or visit www.candrive.ca.

Researchers are challenged with asthma management issues because the cellular and molecular mechanisms for this condition are not clear. Subsequently, they continue to work toward finding methods for early detection, monitoring prognosis, and new therapeutic avenues that can offer more effective treatment.

Rui Wang's research revolves around the presence of hydrogen sulphide (H2S) within the lungs and how it contributes to bronchoconstriction in asthma patients. He hypothesizes that by increasing H2S production levels in the airways and the lungs, bronchoconstriction and airway remodelling will ultimately be lessened.

Aboriginal Initiatives

Tomson Highway, Patricia Cano, and Dino Pepe

Playwright Tomson Highway returned to Thunder Bay last fall to serve as Artist-in-Residence with Lakehead University and Confederation College. In addition to giving a public lecture at the Lakehead University Thunder Bay Campus in October, he and his band performed Kisaageetin “A Cabaret” at both the College and the University. The concert featuring vocalist Patricia Cano with Dino Pepe (HBMusic’94, BEd’98) on saxophone and with special guest Shy-Anne Hovorka (HBMusic’00, BEd’03). Hovorka is one of three Lakehead graduates featured in Lakehead’s 2009-10 Branding Campaign.

The Finnish Connection

Lakehead's Vice-President (Academic) and Provost Laurie Hayes was part of a nine-person delegation of Thunder Bay officials and business leaders to visit Finland last September. The purpose of the trip was to explore the potential for economic, educational, and cultural partnerships with Seinajoki – a city/region of 120,000 people in the Southern Ostrobothnia district of Finland. An agreement between Lakehead and Seinajoki University of Applied Sciences is being developed.

On her return, Laurie Hayes stopped in Helsinki where she met with the Rector of Helsinki-Metropolia University of Applied Sciences and renewed an Exchange Agreement outlining the terms and conditions for student exchanges and other academic activities. Lakehead University currently has agreements with three other Finnish Universities: Helsinki University of Technology, Helsinki; University of Lapland, Rovaniemi; and University of Oulu, Oulu.